"Thank you! Gamm drop the Fourth instalment of tributes to the Godfather of Funk! Something for everyone on here, firstup is the uptempo broken-latin flavoured rework of the ’Godfather’ from Soulparior, sure to be a dancefloor destroyer. A rugged Dilla-esque tribute from D-Frost Beats lowers the tempo for the heads, on the breaks tip the Geisha Boys drop a wicked edit of ‘The Bose’ as sampled on Nas’ ‘Get Down’. Last but not least Ayb Mob contribute a Block Rocking Old Skool Nodding number in the shape of ‘turn back the clock’ that does so in style building into a pure fire Belter! Massive 12.." From Fat City Records.

"Volume 4 of the unstoppable 'Nice Up!' series sees the London party-starters up the ante once again with 2 new genre-bending treats for your dancefloor. Having already given Damien Marley, Dizzee Rascal, Biggie Smalls, Nas and Jamie Lidell the Nice Up! fix up, this time they take on NME fave The Gossip's 'Standing In The Way Of Control', cutting the distinctive vocals of Beth Ditto to a classic skanking riddim, resulting in what sounds like a Jagerbomb-soaked moshpit at Coxsone Dodd's Downbeat soundsystem. Over on the flip, diminutive rapper Skee Lo sees his anthemic 90s hip hop ode to lost love riding the much slept on 'Oh Jah' from Brighton's Black Grass. Adding some dubwise effects and retaining some of the original vocals, this has already been caned by the likes of Daddy G (Massive Attack), Jstar and the Beatvandals, and should see some heavy rotation throughout the summer." (JUNO RECORDS)

"Double header version excursion pressure. The A side is a Latin - Funk version of the Ramsey Lewis classic by Spanish band The Pipe which is a dance floor filler on the modern day Mod scene. 'Soulful Strut' otherwise known as 'Am I The Same Girl' was a big hit back in the sixties and here Peter Nero gives it a big band arrangement with vocal swoons to boot!!" (Phonica Records)

Compiled by legendary Brighton DJ Russ Dewbury. From his debut in 1986 Russ Dewbury has become one of the most influential and, highly respected figures on the international dance music scene. Brighton based Dewbury is one of the top DJs on the circuit and has developed a substantial reputation as live music promoter, record compiler,broadcaster, composer/ producer and all - round musicologist.

One of the original UK jazz DJs, Russ opened the Brighton Jazz Rooms in 1987. Stronger than ever in 2008, the Jazz Rooms has become one of the most successful sessions in club history. "A legendary affair that all should attend" (Straight No Chaser Magazine). From this base Russ has performed at all of the top clubs worldwide and enjoys a hectic touring schedule. This CD represents the sound of the Jazz Rooms sessions and is a look to the future rather than a retrospective 'best of'. Even if you have never been to the club night or have only a passing interest in jazz and related music you’ll find something here to inspire you.

"Nik Weston's Mukatsuku label steps up with it's first release of 2008 and what a blinder! With an impressive back catalogue, this vinyl only imprint can always be trusted to uncover a gem and this, the seventh release on the label raises the bar even higher. One of Japans most respected hip hop producers of recent times, DJ Mitsu The Beats has been responsible for many a classic on labels such as Jazzy Sport, Stone Throw and Blue Note - all straddling the jazz/hip hop/broken beat sound perfectly.

Here he serves up 2 exclusive instrumentals from his 3 piece hip hop outfit Gagle, of whom he is the producer. The A Side ´Eastern Voyage´ is a jazzy hip hop instrumental, evoking the classic sound of Smash Hunters 'Fat Jazzy Grooves' series. Heavy on the head nod, but also fat enough to rock the spot. Over on the flip, the breaks come thick and fast on 'Kuro Fessional MC' - a simple but effective peak time funk rocker".(Kudos Records)

Thursday, 8 May 2008

"We get lots of demos sent to us at Jazzman, and we listen to them all. Some of them are good and worthy of release, but we can’t put out everything we just happen to like. But then every few years something comes along that is so good it gets played in the office over and over and over and over again and captivates so much we just HAVE to release it… and the Natural Yogurt Band is it.

The cd they sent was accompanied by no credentials. There was no promo sheet name-dropping the famous DJs who are playing their music, no pretentious CV stating who plays what and who used to play with whoever; no info, no blurb and no gumph. In other words they just sent me a plain cd, which was refreshing, because at the end of the day all that matters is whether it’s any good or not, right?

So what is it about their 12 track album demo that we find so fascinating? Well, for starters you can hear real people imaginatively playing an ingenious assortment of real instruments. Then there are the original ideas, played out as quirky, innocent instrumentals, and their flawless execution lacks pretence and self-consciousness. You also get the feeling that they are having FUN making their music. And it comes naturally, they’re not trying too hard. After a while trying I managed to finally speak to one of the chaps behind the NYB, Wayne Fullwood (ex-drummer of Little Barrie), and he explained:

“We wanted to make a record that we would enjoy listening to... a pastiche of different moods that make up an interesting album. We never thought about the commercial elements or about success and didn't even think about releasing it until later... we weren't sure whether anyone else would like it. It's not a record that's about listening to the coolest musical tastes or name checking all the right people... it's more about soul and feeling and what we wanted to hear on an album.”

He went on to mention his tastes and musical infuences – Italian gangster films, weird Polish jazz, leftfield electronics, McDermott, Axelrod and Morricone – all the right stuff, and they’ve made their own auditory visualisation of what they feel is good. Oddball, leftfield, funky; yet unpretentious and effortless… now that’s what I call good music.

"Jazzman don't put out new music every day. In fact, they specialise in re-issues and apart 3 or 4 times everything has been old stuff. However, the Natural Yoghurt Band are one of the rare few that impressed Gerald and Hugo so much that they decided to put it out. Kinda on a similar tip to the Heliocentrics but raw, odd, slightly leftfield and ridiculously funky. Recommended!" (Fat City Records)

"Funky drums and flute -- coming together on "Voodoo" with a really wonderful sound -- almost a mix of deep funk and soundtrack styles from the 60s! Natural Yogurt Band are one of the few contemporary acts to record for Jazzman -- but they've got a great style that certainly fits the older vibe of the label -- and the breaking drums on the a-side are more than worth the price of the single. "Soft Cheese" has some great drums too -- moving alongside a dipping bassline, and peppered with moogy bits that are totally wonderful -- almost space age sound library funk" (Dusty Groove Website)

Introducing the MPM Beat 45 series! Beat tapes were yesterday, today it's all about Beat 45s. At least over here at MPM.

We are kicking off a new series focusing on the beatmaker/producer. The concept is simple: taking a raw and uncut dope beat and putting it on 45 single. It can have some vocals too but it has to be strong enough to stand for itself.

Tracklisting :A1. Kill BillB1. Drama (feat. Kissey Asplund)

For Volume 1 we have hooked up with Suff Daddy an up and coming producer from Berlin. Suff Daddy is spending an unhealthy amount of time in the lab making beats and has a solid perchant for Tanqueray. "Kill Bill" is a straight up banger, simple as that. "Drama" features Swedish songstress Kissey Asplund (check her solo single on BBE). All Beat 45s are limited to 1.000 copies!

"MPM (Lefties Soul Connection/ Breakout/ Outbreak etc) start a new imprint, Beat 45. Here's what they told us about it: "Beat tapes were yesterday, today it’s all about Beat 45s. At least over here at MPM. We are kicking off a new series focusing on the beatmaker/producer.The concept is simple: taking a raw and uncut dope beat and putting it on 45 single. It can have some vocals too but it has to be strong enough to stand for itself.Kill Bill is a banger, quality stuff, 'Drama' with Kissy Asplund is a broken soul gem" (Fat City Records)

The two LA beat excursionists kill the 7" with GLK's mind bending "Show Stopper(1)" and the horror rock sounds of Free The Robot's "Clocks And Daggers(2)." The anticipated mix continues the evil breaks, with a lil' help from evil breaks partner Kutmah for an hour of murderous drums, deep funk, and dark instrumentals. There's no tracklist for this, but the Gaslamp Killer has never been one to leave clues at the scene of the crime.

If you believe in the dark side of funk, you'll love this. Obey certainly didn't pull any stops on the design either. From the piercing portrait of GLK on the cover by Shepard Fairey to the eloquent gatefold art, this is bound to be sought by collectors everywhere". (www.urbanindustry.co.uk)

Sounds Of The Universe are now accepting pre-sale orders for this compilation for shipping as soon as we receive stock in May! Click here.

"This is the third and final installment in the excellent Sound Way Records' essential trilogy of 1970s Nigerian sounds: first we had hi-life, then disco and boogie, and now we have the complete picture with this third volume focusing on afro-rock and funk!

As you would expect from Sound Way, this is an absolutely brilliant compilation that showcases the flowering of the afro-rock sound in Nigeria as the influence of US acts like Jimi Hendrix and Santana started to seep into the mainly soul-based sets of a handful of young bands.

Some of the musicians from these bands were picked up by Cream's Ginger Baker when he visited Nigeria in 1970 and accompanied him on a tour of Europe and America - this experience exposed these young players to the betaing heart of the inner-world of progressive and psychedelic rock at its peak, and so these musicians were able to return to Nigeria full of inspiration.

The resultant Afro Rock craze hit the students and young night clubbers of Nigeria hard as fuzz-heavy guitars were fused with heavy African rhythms, taking the African and Afro-Latin influences behind the US rockers back home to the source!" (Sounds Of The Universe)

Thursday, 1 May 2008

"The Doors and Rhino Records are pleased to announce a seven LP box set of 180-gram HQ vinyl reissues of the six studio albums by The Doors in stereo, plus a mono version of the debut album. The entire set will be remastered and personally supervised by Jac Holzman, founder of Elektra Records and production supervisor for The Doors, and Bruce Botnick, The Doors’ engineer/co-producer/mixer for all six studio albums. All albums are exact replicas of the original releases, including all artwork, packaging, and inner sleeves. The box set will be available for a short time in a limited edition run of 12,500, each one individually numbered". Doors Website.

In honor of the band's fortieth anniversary, the surviving members of the Doors offer an account of the legendary rock group's history, featuring previously unpublished anecdotes, archival material, memorabilia, and rare photographs.

Both items look stunning, I managed to have a quick look through the book before diving off to work and it looks amazing, great pictures and in-depth write-ups. As for the Vinyl Box Set..... this is heavy-weight, a real collectors item.

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